Amazon sued over requiring security screenings on unpaid time

Mornings are generally not something people look forward to. Whether it’s a grueling commute or a 9 a.m. sales call, it’s safe to assume most would rather catch a couple extra minutes of sleep than go through the daybreak ceremony. That’s especially true for workers at Amazon, who are suing the online shopping giant for subjecting them to unpaid security screenings as part of their morning routine.

On Oct. 14, a Pennsylvania man filed a class action law suit alleging that Amazon put him and other workers through extensive 10-20 minute security screenings when they were off the clock. The screenings took place when employees entered the building and again after they clocked out for lunch and for the day, during which they were not being paid.

The complaint was filed in a Philadelphia court house and alleges that daily, over 100 workers were subjected to these extensive and unpaid security screenings. The suit attempts to recoup lost wages for the time associated with the frisks.

“Defendants have never paid warehouse workers for time spent processing through this required post-shift screening process prior to exiting the Amazon Fulfillment Center,” Amazon said in court documents stated. “As a result of the compensation practice utilized by defendants, warehouse workers are not compensated for all time during which they were required to be on the premises of the Amazon Fulfillment Center.”

This is the second suit against Amazon alleging improper compensation in relation to security screening time. A similar suit was brought in September by a group of workers in a Tennessee fulfillment center. Plaintiffs in that case where offered a settlement that reimbursed them for the time that they lost during the frisks.

In other recent Amazon news, the company recently won a $600 million contract over IBM to store information for the Central intelligence Agency.

Executive Editor

Chris DiMarco

Chris DiMarco, Executive Editor of InsideCounsel magazine, has a background in multimedia production with previous involvement in projects in which he developed and created content...